Feature
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Childhood’s End
In northern Thailand, parents send one or more of their daughters off to become prostitutes so that the girls will make enough money to improve the local status of their families, a finding with implications for programs aimed at stopping child prostitution.
- Health & Medicine
Oral Exams
Scientists are taking advantage of the components in spit to develop new, saliva-based diagnostic tests.
- Earth
The Wind and the Fury
New research suggests that, as global warming proceeds, hurricane winds will gain speed and the storms will dump more rain, but controversy lingers as to how much more violent the storms will become and when they will occur.
- Health & Medicine
When Flu Flies the Coop
Scientists are tracking the spread of a threatening influenza virus in birds and exploring strategies that could be used to halt a potential outbreak in people before it explodes into a global epidemic.
- Astronomy
Deep Impact
Data from the Deep Impact mission reveal that the bullet that slammed into Comet Tempel 1 on July 4 excavated material that likely hadn't seen the light of day since the birth of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.
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Food Fix
Scientists have discovered a number of neurological connections between drug addiction and obesity.
- Math
Armor-Plated Puzzle
Behind the beautiful patterns of many viral shells lie principles of pure physics and mathematics that scientists have illuminated in recent theoretical studies.
- Health & Medicine
Targeted Attack
Scientists are piecing together the details of how mutations in a protein called EGFR can lead to cancer, and they are designing a new class of drugs to stop the protein's destructive behavior.
- Earth
Earthshaking Event
Seismic instruments have provided a wealth of information about the earthquake that rocked Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004.
- Health & Medicine
Potent Medicine
Drugs now used to treat erectile dysfunction might soon assume multiple roles in managing heart disease and other conditions, including some that affect women and infants.
- Animals
Myth of the Bad-Nose Birds
Even though a lot of people still believe birds have no sense of smell, certain species rely on their noses for important jobs, such as finding food and shelter, and maybe even a mate.
- Paleontology
Just for Frills?
The more that paleontologists scrutinize some dinosaurs' plates, frills, and other anatomical oddities, the more they suspect that the rationale behind these features is simply the need to be recognizably different.
